The Next Generation
by Torie46
Summary: Life at Xavier's School for the Gifted as seen through the eyes of Amanda Xavier; the mutant daughter of Charles Xavier and Moira McTaggart. Being parents to a normal child is a test. How much more for a mutant child when the government hates mutants and all she wants is to be normal.
1. Rebirth

The New Generation

 **Summary: The next generation of mutants at "Xavier's School for the Gifted" as seen through the eyes of Amanda Xavier, the mutant daughter of Charles Xavier and Moira McTaggart.**

Chapter 1- Rebirth

Charles Xavier watched with trepidation. It had been a year since the Apocalypse incident and almost a year since he had married his beautiful wife, Moira. Of course the nervousness had more to do with the fact that Moira was pregnant and giving birth. Moira had said that giving birth was nothing, but Charles's friend, Hank had cautioned that Moira wasn't as young as she had been when she had given birth to her son from another marriage. Moira and Charles would be having a baby rather late in life. Charles wanted his baby healthy, but he wanted Moira to live too.

"It is all right, Charles. Women have been having babies since time began," Charles's friend Erik, teased.

"Probably right, old friend. But Moira isn't as young as when we first met her. And I guess all fathers hope the baby will be all right," Charles said with a brief grin.

"You are right, Charles. I know I did when Nina was born," Erik said with a bittersweet sadness in his eyes. Nina Lensherr and her mother had been brutally killed a year before and this was the first time Erik had been able to really talk about it.

"I bet she was beautiful, Erik. I kind of wonder if she'll be like me. Since the mutant gene is passed through fathers," Charles said.

"Nina had it. Stands to reason that your son or daughter would have it. Granted, his or her powers might be different from yours. Nina couldn't manipulate metal," Erik said.

"That could be a relief. Being able to read minds and having the powers of persuasion isn't the best of gifts," Charles said as Hank came out of the mansion's operating room.

"Well?" Charles asked, biting his lips.

"Charles, you have a healthy baby girl," Hank said.

"And Moira?" Charles asked anxiously.

"She is fine. Raven, Ororo, and Jean are cleaning her and the baby up. Charles, I tested the baby's blood. She has the mutant gene. At this moment, I don't know the extent of her powers. You might want to run it through Cerebro to know what she has or we can wait to see what develops," Hank said.

Charles smiled briefly. "You are probably right, Hank. But at this moment I want to see my girls," Charles said as he rolled his wheelchair to the operating room. This was the only drawback to having a family besides the fact that people would hunt his daughter down. His baby girl would never see her father walk into a room to hug her or kiss her. She would only know that her father was in a wheelchair. Charles wheeled into the room. Moira was laying on a bed, a soft, pink bundle in her arms as Jean covered her with a quilt. Moira smiled at him with a contented look in her eyes.

"Charles, she's here," Moira said as Raven took the baby and placed her in Charles's arms. Charles pulled back the blankets from his daughter's face and felt his breath catch. She had his dark brown hair before he had lost it and his blue eyes. Her mouth was Moira's and the shape of her nose and cheeks.

"She... she... she is so beautiful," Charles said, tears coming to his eyes.

"She looks like you with her hair and eyes. What are we going to call her, Charles? I only thought of boy names," Moira said.

"Funny. I only thought of girl names. Amanda Moira Xavier. Amanda after my mother and Moira after you," Charles said, tracing his daughter's face with his hand as she blinked unfocused eyes.

"I love it, but not as much as I love you, Charles," Moira said.

"I love you too, Moira, and I love our girl," Charles said, feeling wonder enter him as Amanda made soft baby noises. Then she blinked and looked at him, her eyes no longer unfocused and a toothless grin spread across her face. Charles felt his heart beat double. His girl knew him! She knew that Charles Xavier was her father! This probably was one of her powers, unless all babies knew their fathers. It raised an interesting question; if normal or mutant babies all were the same when it came to their parents. Charles couldn't wait to see if it stemmed from her powers or the other way.


	2. FatherDaughter Time

Chapter 2- Father/Daughter time

Charles sat at his desk in his office pouring over papers. It had been a week since Amanda's birth and even that couldn't stop the paperwork Charles had on new students. Charles found himself smiling. Charles loved his daughter dearly. Already Amanda had stolen everyone's heart at the school. She was the youngest mutant there and she had garnered the protection of everyone from her parents to little Tavie Reynolds who was only five and could breathe underwater like a fish.

Charles looked up as Moira came in with Amanda in her arms. "Charles, I'm going to the store. Can you watch Amanda?" Moira asked, settling the baby in his arms.

"Of course, love. Anything I need to know?" Charles asked as Amanda grasped his fingers and pulled them to her mouth to suck on them. For Amanda Xavier, her father was her favorite toy. Charles had realized the best policy was to allow her to treat his hand as a chew toy. For Amanda her father's fingers in her mouth was a kind of comfortable pacifier.

"She has already been fed and had a diaper change. She won't be going down for a nap for another hour or two. I should be back by then," Moira said, dropping a kiss on Amanda's and then Charles's head.

"All right, my love. Anything else?" Charles asked.

"Yeah. I need about 15 dollars," Moira said. Charles pulled a drawer out of his desk and pulled out a 20 dollar bill.

"Here you go, love," Charles said, handing her the money.

After giving the baby and Charles quick kisses Moira was gone. "Well, love, it's just you and me," Charles commented. The only response the baby gave was to grasp his hand tighter and suck at the digits in her toothless mouth while she stared at her father with such a ferocity that Moira had said couldn't be normal for most babies. She had said that most babies couldn't even focus that good after a week. Charles and Hank had had to remind her that Amanda wasn't a normal baby with her being a mutant like her father and everyone else at the school. For the moment Moira was the only human there and she had become a part of the group when she married Charles and had his daughter.

Charles smiled at his girl and gently kissed her forehead. Amanda made a soft baby sound that sounded content as she released his hand slightly to suck on another finger. Raven then came in. Raven wasn't in her human form. She was blue like she was when Charles first saw her when they were children and she had suited up in one of the uniforms that they wore when they went on missions. This usually meant that she and Hank were teaching a class as Mystique and Beast. "Charles, Scott, Jean, Ororo, and Kurt wanted you to come down to observe the class," Raven said, giving Amanda a smile. Amanda kicked her feet against her father's chest and chirped around Charles's finger; an act that never ceased to surprise Charles. How his girl could make sounds when her father's fingers were in her mouth was an oddity to him, but this was her way of saying hello to all the mutants she saw every day. The baby was also fascinated by Hank, Kurt, and Raven when she saw them blue.

"She's maturing at a fast rate, Charles," Raven said, brushing the baby's face gently.

"She is at that. It could be in her DNA. Hank said that if she's like any other child at this school she should learn very fast. I was reading books and understanding them by the time I was three," Charles said as Amanda gave little sounds of contentment.

"Why is that not so difficult to believe?" Raven asked teasingly.

"Very funny," Charles said with mock-severity, which he failed at miserably. Since Raven had been angry at him for years it was a relief that she wasn't anymore and was teasing him like she used to when she was almost like a daughter to him.

"It really isn't that unbelievable, Charles. If she's anything like you, she'll love books," Raven commented.

"Don't you have a class to teach?" Charles asked.

"Don't you want to come see it?" Raven evaded the question.

"All right. We'll be right there," Charles said as Raven left the room, followed by Charles and Amanda.


	3. Baby's First Christmas

Chapter 3- Baby's First Christmas

 **A/N: Because it's the holidays, this post and the next post should be Christmas-themed. Merry Christmas everybody.**

Moira McTaggart Xavier woke up early and slipped quietly out of bed, so as not to wake her sleeping husband, Charles. Moira padded on her soft socks and went to the bassinette where Amanda lay sleeping. Amazing that Christmas Eve would be the day that the baby finally slept through the night. Granted she and Charles took turns with 3 a.m. feedings and diaper changes, but this was the first night Amanda had given them a rest since her birth three months ago. Moira looked at her daughter in wonder as she blinked her blue eyes at her. Her daughter had her daddy's big beautiful blue eyes. Moira hoped that Amanda's eyes stayed blue, but being a mutant they just might. Charles still wouldn't use Cerebro to know what powers their little girl possessed and as far as Moira was concerned, she wasn't pushing it.

Charles said Amanda would exhibit her powers, but at least it would be here among others just like her. She would see Raven, Hank, and Kurt as blue and not think it was strange. Moira sat down in her rocking chair, cuddling the baby in her arms as she rocked. One of the boys at school, David McIntyre had carved it at school with his fingers that were as sharp as blades. Since she had married Charles all the students had grown to love her and she was dubbed as "The Professor's Woman." David had come carrying it in two weeks before Amanda was born and had told her that the entire woodcarving class wanted "The Professor's Woman" to have this chair. Moira had been touched by the gift and the love that everyone there showed in the gift.

Moira would have fallen asleep if not for the finger lightly tracing her jawline. Moira looked up with a sleepy smile at her husband as he twisted his fingers in her hair. "If you fall asleep there with Amanda, love, I'll never be able to move either of you," Charles said, looking like he wanted to kiss her. Well, she might as well indulge him. Moira leaned forward and kissed her husband, Amanda in the crook of her arm. Charles and Moira started to laugh when Amanda chirped in a light airy voice. Amanda was very vocal in her love for Charles. Already she was a Daddy's girl. When she cried, which was rare, or when she wanted to be held before going to sleep, it was Charles that she wanted. Moira wasn't upset that her daughter clung to her father. From what Moira had heard a lot of little girls did.

"It's a first, Charles. She slept all night," Moira said as Charles gave his hand to Amanda and she did her daily ritual of sucking on his fingers as if they were a pacifier. Their daughter was fascinated with her father's hands. She would often fall asleep with her father's fingers in her mouth. Granted, they would have to wean her of that or she'd develop buckteeth, but at the moment she didn't have teeth to contend with.

"That's a good thing, I would think, my love. Fitting that it would be on Christmas Eve," Charles said as Moira gave Amanda to Charles and the baby chirped around his fingers happily and snuggled into his chest.

"Yes, considering all the things me, Ororo, Jean, and Raven want to do with cooking and all, it's wonderful that she slept through the night. I also have to run to the store for some last-minute gifts. Erik is coming tonight, right?" Moira asked.

"Of course. Since Peter told him who he was Erik hates letting him out of his sight," Charles said, quickly sticking his finger back into Amanda's mouth when she gave a sharp wail after he pulled it away.

"I am glad that Peter finally told him who he was. Raven told me that it wasn't right that Peter hide that from him," Moira said.

"I have discussed that with him. I wouldn't want Amanda to keep secrets from either of us and I don't keep secrets from you and you don't keep them from me," Charles said.

"Well, what about what I'm giving you for Christmas?" Moira teased. Charles grinned.

"That is different. It's Christmas. This is the only time of year where we can lie to each other and I don't try to read your mind to discover what I'm getting," Charles said dryly.

"Well, I do have something I need to tell you. Call it an early Christmas gift, but I think I'm pregnant again," Moira said, nearly laughing as a dumbstruck look covered her husband's face.

Charles put Amanda down in her bassinette and turned to look at her. "Are you sure?" Charles asked in a shaking voice.

"I'm positive. Remember when I got sick two nights ago with the cinnamon rolls that Raven and Ororo made for dessert? I went to see Hank and he said that I'm six weeks along," Moira said.

"Oh, love, I am so sorry. I know we wanted to wait until Amanda was a year older before trying for another baby," Charles said, resting his hand on the side of her head, and gently stroking her face and hair. It was something he had started doing since the "Apocalypse" incident after giving back her memories of him in 1963.

Moira gripped her husband's wrist and kissed each finger gently and then the palm of his hand. "I don't mind. I love giving you children, Charles, as much as I love you," Moira said.

"Well, if you love me, then kiss me," Charles teased. Moira leaned forward and kissed him, all thought leaving, including thoughts about the new baby and the Christmas Eve party later tonight.

* * *

Moira stood next to her husband in the dining room. She and the female students and staff at the school had just recently decorated the dining room for Christmas and all had dressed in their best. Moira had dressed Amanda in red-and-green flannel and everyone was take with her. At the moment Hank was holding her. Amanda wasn't afraid of Hank's blue form. But then again, she wasn't afraid of Raven's or Kurt's blue forms either. She appeared fascinated by the mutants that looked different and not really human, even though Hank and Raven could make themselves look human as opposed to Kurt, who could never turn off his blue form.

Charles looked around at all of his children, a smile lighting his face as he looked at Moira. "Hello, Dear," Moira said.

"Hello, my love. You and the girls outdid yourselves with the decorations," Charles commented, raising her hand to his lips and kissing the palm gently.

"Well, we had Kurt and Scott hang the mistletoe and greenery from the ceiling. Ororo said she had never seen mistletoe and the boys wanted to hang it for her and tell her that people get kissed under the mistletoe," Moira said.

Charles grinned. "How do you feel, Moira?" Charles asked, touching her still-flat stomach. It was hard to believe that her stomach would grow with a new baby very soon.

Moira gently rubbed his hand splayed across her belly. "Charles, I only have morning sickness. Start worrying about me on my feet when I'm seven months into this," Moira said dryly.

"If you remember, love, this is not a normal pregnancy. The baby could either be a mutant or he could be human," Charles said.

"As you were so quick to tell me when I was pregnant with Amanda. Also, what makes you so sure it's a boy, Charles?" Moira said teasingly as she ran her hand over Charles's bald head.

"Simple, I am your husband and I know that's what you want. I can read minds, you know," Charles said, with that smile that melted Moira every time and fall in love with him every day.

"Yeah. How can I forget?" Moira quipped as little Tavie Reynolds came bounding up to them like a little pixie.

"Professor! It's snowing!" Tavie shouted. Moira cast an amused look with her husband.

"We are in New York, Tavie. It is going to snow," Moira said dryly as the little girl climbed on Charles's lap as if he were Santa Claus. All the very small children who had separation anxiety issues from being separated from their parents loved Charles. For the younger children, he was their father.

"But we are in the country, so it's going to be beautiful," Charles pointed out as everyone went to the huge picture window and everyone stared in wonder at the big, fat snowflakes falling lazily to the ground.

"Perfect that it would snow on Christmas Eve," Peter commented.

"I saw snow every year in Poland and Germany, so it isn't that much of a big deal," a voice said causing everyone to turn. Erik stood a few paces away from the group, looking as standoffish as always.

"Hi, Dad," Peter said, giving Erik an awkward hug. The two of them were just learning how to be a family, but their relationship was strained at best. Moira had heard Charles and Erik talking and Erik admitted that his relationship with Peter was going to be different than the relationship he had had with Nina, his daughter who had been killed along with Erik's wife last year.

"Welcome, old friend," Charles said, wheeling his wheelchair up to Erik, Tavie still on his lap.

"Thank you for having me, Charles, even though I don't observe Christmas, only Chanukah," Erik said.

"Why only Chanukah?" Ororo asked in her heavily accented voice.

"My family was Jewish and until 1943 we observed the Festival of Lights. Although I do admit that Christmas looks interesting. The first time I ever saw a Christmas tree was the one in Washington D.C.," Erik said.

"But me and Charles are happy that you came, Erik. We hope you brought your appetite. We have plenty of food," Moira said graciously.

Erik grinned briefly. "When Charles told me that there'd be a feast I came with an appetite," Erik said. Moira knew that Erik didn't like humans and that he preferred talking to just the mutants at the school. But since it was a holiday, he would be civil to Moira. But then again, all the mutants at the school had forgotten that she wasn't a mutant. She was equal since she had married Charles and given birth to Amanda.

"Okay, everyone. Dinner is ready," Raven said, coming into the room and a mad dash went to the dining room.


	4. Baby's First Christmas Prt II

Chapter 4- Baby's First Christmas Prt. II

The dinner was big. There was turkey, ham, and roast beef. Erik was the only one there who never touched ham, but he didn't mind roast beef and mashed potatoes with cranberry sauce and a piece of pumpkin pie. Moira smiled at Charles as Raven handed Amanda to him, This was Moira's second Christmas with Charles and she loved him every day, And even though they were surprised by this second baby, Moira didn't regret having another baby as long as both of her children were gifts from the man she loved. Charles looked at her, his blue eyes full of love. When Charles had told her that he had erased her memories of him, Moira had been hurt and angry, but when he had explained the reason, Moira had forgiven him, realizing the love behind his actions.

Moira looked at the sweet potatoes on her plate. Normally she loved them, but tonight they caused her stomach to flip. Moira raised her hand to her mouth, willing her traitorous stomach to stay inside. It was then that she noticed someone stroking her face gently. "Moira, love, are you all right?" Charles's voice broke through her concentration. Moira smiled at Charles and Amanda, who had snuggled contentedly in the crook of her father's arm.

"I'm fine, Charles. I love sweet potatoes and I cooked them, but tonight they just don't look good," Moira said, taking a drink of water and smiling faintly at her husband.

"That is all right, my love. Just eat what you can. You don't have to force it," Charles said.

"I just feel awful when I was the one who made them. I used my mother's recipe for heaven's sake," Moira said, feeling terrible for saying that.

"It happens to the best of people, Moira. When my wife was pregnant with Nina, she once cooked potato latkes for me and she got sick at the sight of them, even though it was her mother's recipe," Erik said helpfully.

"Thank you, old friend. See. If it happened to Erik's wife, it's not that strange," Charles said.

"I guess it also proves that mutant or human all mothers get morning sickness," Hank said dryly

"I guess so. I do feel terrible that I put you in this position, love," Charles said, tracing her face gently. Moira gripped his wrist and kissed the palm gently.

" I don't mind. It is worth it to have Amanda and this new baby. People like Stryker can think what they want and call me a traitor to humans for loving a mutant and having his children, but don't think that is how I feel," Moira said.

* * *

Charles woke up early the next morning. After slipping out of bed quietly, so as not to wake Moira, Charles went to Raven's room where she had kept Amanda last night. Sometimes when Charles and Moira wanted some time to themselves Raven, Jean, or Ororo would volunteer to watch the baby. Raven answered the door at Charles's knock, Amanda in her arms. Amanda chirped and smiled as soon as her eyes saw Charles. Everyone had expressed amazement at how Amanda Xavier could recognize her father at such a young age. Charles chalked it up to her being the youngest mutant in the school.

"Charles, she just woke up. I think she knows when you are near as she slept through the night and only woke up five minutes ago," Raven said, handing Amanda to him and Amanda gripped his fingers and started her routine of sucking them.

"It has been that way since she was born. It would break my heart if she didn't recognize me," Charles said, kissing his daughter's forehead, earning a happy chirp around the fingers in her mouth.

"Charles, Hank told me that you won't use Cerebro to find out what powers Amanda has. Don't you want to know?" Raven asked.

"Yes, I do, but I want my girl to tell me when she has a new power and I want to be surprised as if her powers are like Christmas gifts," Charles said, stroking Amanda's face with the fingers that weren't in her mouth.

"All right. I won't say anything else about it," Raven said as she followed Charles's chair to the parlor. Hank and Erik were standing there and turned to Charles and Raven.

"So, what do you want us to do, Charles?" Erik asked.

"I want to hang stockings for the children and, since I can't stand up, I want you and Erik to do it," Charles said.

"The boxes are over there and we had better get started before the kids wake up," Hank said, going over to two boxes that just said 'Christmas Decorations."

Charles couldn't hang the stockings like Hank, Raven, and Erik. All he could do was sit there with Amanda in his arms, listening to her as she chirped and sucked his fingers and made baby noises that almost sounded like words in baby talk. Hank had said she might pick up talking quicker than a human baby with the X gene in her body.

Charles was not paying much attention to his daughter's babbling when all of a sudden he sat up in shock and looked down at his girl. "Amanda, what did you say?" Charles asked, holding Amanda up, just so he could look in her blue eyes.

"Charles, what's wrong?" Raven asked with concern as she, Hank, and Erik came over to him.

"Nothing, I don't think. But Amanda. I just heard her say something clearly. Come on, love. Repeat it for Daddy," Charles said, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he pulled his fingers from her mouth.

"Daddy," Amanda said in a light airy voice and reached for his hand.


	5. The Future Starts Slow

Chapter 5- The Future Starts Slow

 **A/N: This may sound like the show "Smallville," but I would think the mutants would be a lot like Clark Kent and that would include Amanda Xavier. Also this won't be following "Dark Phoenix." I won't tell what happens in the movie as I haven't seen it yet, but I did read the plot.**

14 years later...

Sarah Nichols picked up her backpack on the first day of school. It was Freshman year in New London, Connecticut. It was also one of the hottest first days of school ever invented. Sara had pulled back her long dark hair into a ponytail, but at eight o'clock the back of her neck was covered in sweat. "Sarah! Sarah Louise Nicholls, you'll be late for school," Sarah's mother yelled up the stairs, causing Sarah to wince at her middle name. When she was younger boys called her "Wheeze" when they found out her middle name was "Louise." The only one who didn't call her that was her rabbi. Her mom was Jewish and considering Jewish bloodlines, Sarah would go to Synagogue every Saturday with her parents as she was seen as Jewish.

Of course, technically Sarah wasn't really Jewish as she had been adopted when she was very small. Sara couldn't really remember her birth parents. The only memory she had was of a man with no hair in a wheelchair, but a person couldn't really call that a memory. And there was something special about the bald man, but Sarah couldn't remember that either. Sometimes at night she had dreams, but Sarah wasn't sure if they were dreams or imagined. She saw three people that were blue, a man who could move metal, and two boys; one shot fire out of his eyes and the other ran fast. To here some of the kids at school talk the people in her dreams were referred to as mutants.

"Coming, Ima," Sarah said, using the Jewish word for "Mother." When she was little people wondered why she called her parents Abba and Ima. They understood when Sarah explained that was what Jewish kids that followed the Jewish laws called their mothers and fathers. Her non-Jewish friends had teased her, but her father had said it didn't matter what people thought of what she called them.

Sarah came down the stairs and grabbed the pitcher of milk, pouring it into a glass. "Sarah, I have a PTA meeting. You and your dad are on your own for dinner," Naomi Nichols said.

"Okay. Can we have pizza tonight?" Sarah asked hopefully. Sarah loved pizza. Especially all-beef pepperoni with bell peppers. A lot of Jews wondered if the pizza was even kosher, but Sarah had checked. The pepperonis were all-beef, not pork.

Her mother sighed deeply. Her mother wouldn't even touch the all-beef, but she did like toppings that were okay to Jewish sensibilities. "All right, if you and Abba get me a chicken, extra cheese and tomato," Naomi said. Sarah's father then came in and went to the sink to wash his hands.

"Good morning, Princess," Jackson Nicholls said, kissing first Sarah and then Naomi.

"Jack, I told Sarah that I have a PTA meeting tonight, so I'll leave money for pizza," Naomi said.

"Thanks, Sweetheart. What's that you got there, Princess?" Jackson asked, looking at Sarah with a piece of paper.

"Permission slip to join the girl's basketball team," Sarah said, handing the paper to her father.

"No," Jackson said flatly.

"Oh, come on, Abba. I'm probably gonna sit on the bench most of the season. Most people don't even get to play," Sarah begged.

"No. Look, a lot of things can happen in the heat of the moment. And also, aren't the games on Friday nights? It's Shabbat at sundown," Jackson reminded her.

"But, Abba, you got to play basketball," Sarah said.

"It was different for me. I wasn't born Jewish with commitments on Friday and I am not a mutant who could hurt somebody by showing off. Look, I know it's difficult, but you've got to hang in there like we discussed," Jackson said.

"I'm sick of hanging in there, Abba. I just want to get through high school without being a total loser," Sarah said, walking out the door.

* * *

"Jack, would it be so bad if she was on the basketball team?" Naomi asked, touching her husband's firm, muscular arm.

"Naomi, a lot of things can happen in the heat of the moment and, also, what if Stryker was to find out I took Charles Xavier's daughter. He was going to experiment on her," Jackson said.

"I know. If Stryker was to find out we have Amanda Xavier, he would come here and take her and possibly kill us," Naomi said

He would do it too if we returned her to her father. But I guess we should be happy that she doesn't remember Stryker or Charles and his wife, Moira. You'd think with eidetic memory she would," Jackson said as he left his house.

* * *

Charles Xavier removed the helmet he wore when using Cerebro. It was time to look for new students for the school and every fall Charles would use Cerebro for that purpose. Of course it was rather discouraging when each time he failed to find Amanda. All mutants could be found, but for some reason that escaped him, someone had suppressed the x-gene in Amanda where her father couldn't find her.

"Dad? Mom says it's time for dinner?" Charles's thirteen-year-old son, David. Moira and Charles were relieved that whoever had taken Amanda hadn't succeeded in taking David. Of course it meant that Charles was more protective regarding his son. And stricter when it came to his boy too.

Charles smiled at David and stroked his son's light brownish-red hair. David had inherited Moira's red hair and his father's blue eyes. "Of course, son. I never like disappointing your mother when it comes to dinner," Charles said, pulling his son onto his lap and rolling the wheelchair out.

"Any new students, Dad?" David asked.

"A couple of new ones. I'll start going on the interviews tomorrow with Uncle Hank and Uncle Eric. The closest one is a fourteen-year-old girl who lives in New London, Connecticut. It looks as if she has eidetic memory, can defy gravity in a way and has your ability to regenerate and heal herself," Charles said.

"Hopefully she doesn't shoot electricity out of her fingers like I do. It's like I become an instant defibrillator when you and the X-Men go on missions. I don't feel thirteen, Dad. I feel like a piece of hospital equipment," David said sarcastically.

"I'm sure it could be worse, David. Now after we eat, we need to go over your schedule for this year. You have two classes with me this year. We need to decide at what time you and your class will meet me for literature and on how to be a mutant and control your powers," Charles said as they entered their private living quarters.


	6. Lunch Time and Inquiries

Chapter 6- Lunch Time and Inquiries

Sarah pulled her sweaty hair off the back of her neck. It was hot when she left the house. Now it was just plain stifling Sarah thought of how Kristy Thomas had felt in her old "Baby-sitters Club" books and how she had yelled "Hurray!" If it wasn't bad manners like it was in the book Sarah would have yelled it too. It was worse that the air conditioning was broken and school was no where near over for the day.

Lunchtime couldn't come soon enough. Sarah picked up her books and went to her locker. She took her World History and her copy of "Jane Eyre" out of her locker as World History and Reading were next after lunch. Sarah had always loved books. The bald man from her memory liked books too, but she never could remember which book he was reading to her or even what he sounded like. Sarah only remembered him and the book and how she liked to sit on his lap in the crook of his arm and turn the pages.

"Hey, Sass, you gonna meet us at the pizza place tonight?" Sarah's best friend Avery Tiddle asked. Avery was from Georgia and sounded just like all those Southern belles in every Civil War movie that Sarah had ever seen. Sarah was willing to bet that with Avery's clear complexion, that was the envy of all the girls and her petite frame, Avery would have made a perfect Southern belle. One half expected her to say "Great balls of fire!" like Scarlett O'Hara.

"No, afraid not Avey. Ima has a PTA meeting and me and Abba are having pizza tonight and watching "Air Force One" that Abba bought last month," Sarah said, tucking her books in her arms as the two of them made their way to the cafeteria.

"Oh, sorry. So what did your father say about the girl's basketball team?" Avery asked.

"He still says no. I even told him I probably wouldn't play," Sarah said as they picked up there trays.

"Didn't your dad play basketball?" Avery asked.

"Yeah, more or less, but Abba thinks that since the games are on Fridays that I shouldn't as Shabbat starts at sundown," Sarah said, deciding to tell only half the truth. So far, no one at school knew that Sarah was a mutant and Jackson had said that it was best if everyone still thought that for reasons that he wouldn't tell her.

"Oh, I see. Couldn't you ask your rabbi if you can play on Fridays?" Avery asked as she grabbed an orange juice.

"I tried that once. He said that he didn't want to interfere with a decision that Abba and Ima made regarding Friday night and going to the synagogue on Saturday," Sarah said as she picked up a plate of baked chicken and French fries. Today it was the only meal that looked kosher since Sarah followed the diet even away from the house. She also picked up a bottle of tea since milk wasn't kosher with the chicken.

"Interesting spiritual leader," Avery said.

"I know. He's also the bar and bat mitzvah instructor when a Jewish girl or boy turns thirteen. He never seemed to mind that I would ask 40,000 questions. He said that all Jews ask questions and that I wouldn't be a good Jew if I didn't have them. So, what is your reading class reading?" Sarah asked, changing the subject as they payed for their food and sat down.

"Agatha Christie. We've all started " _The Mysterious Affair at Styles_." What about you?" Avery asked.

"The Bronte sisters and Jane Austen. We're reading " _Jane Eyre_ " right now," Sarah said, indicating the thick and pocket-sized volume her teacher had given her of the British gothic novel.

"Yeah, you gotta love British authors," Avery said.

"Funny. That's what Aunt Shoshanna said last week at Shabbat dinner when she and Uncle Jonathan came and she asked what we read in reading class," Sarah said, taking a bite of chicken.

"Have your parents said anything to you about some man called Stryker?" Some boy who sat across from Avery and Sarah asked, completely out of the blue.

"No. Who's that, Ward?" Sarah asked.

"He came to my parents' house yesterday asking about some mutant named Amanda Xavier who went missing and he was wondering if we had seen her," Ward asked, eating a roast beef on rye bread.

"How old was she when she went missing?" Avery asked.

"He said about three or four and that was 10 or 11 years ago that she went missing," Ward said.

"How can anyone recognize anyone who was three 10 or 11 years ago? I'm sure I don't look the same now as when I was three. You grow, your face and hair changes," Sarah said.

"That's what Dad said, but Stryker said that she's not even a viable human being and is a freak of nature," Ward said.

"Give me a break. Stryker sounds as if he has a few screws loose. I'm sure there are good people among the mutants. Ima and Abba told me about some woman named Mystique. She's a mutant with blue skin, but she's not a bad person. She saved President Nixon in the 70's," Sarah said.

"Yeah, we've all heard of that one. Dad said she wanted to kill some guy named Bolivar Trask and Erik Lensherr in the 70's," Ward said.

"Yeah, to hear Abba describe it, Trask was a nutcase who thought all mutants were evil because they were different," Sarah said, taking a sip of her tea.

" Dad got angry at Stryker and kicked him out, saying he wasn't about to hurt children, mutant or human. Dad's family has always been like that. My grandfather saved Jews during the Holocaust of the 40's. He would save anyone who needed help. Dad is no exception," Ward said.

"Score one for your dad," Avery said, clearly impressed.

"Yeah, Stryker wasn't as impressed as you, Sass," Ward said as he unwrapped an ice cream sandwich.

"I just hope he doesn't come to my house. Abba has a worst temper than your dad. He would never agree to hurt a mutant kid," Sarah said as she ate her last French fry and swallowed the last of her tea.

"Good point, Sass. I saw your dad freak on Super Bowl Sunday when the team he was rooting for fumbled the football," Avery said, rolling her eyes.

"No kidding. There are reasons why I hate football. Abba acting like that over a game is the biggest reason. Now if you excuse me, I need to head for the library. My teacher wants us to do a paper on somebody famous or a world event surrounding the Holocaust. I saw a book by Saul Friedlander called " _Nazi Germany and the Jews."_ I wanna write a paper on the Holocaust instead of Oskar Schindler or Anne Frank," Sarah said, picking up her backpack and making her way to the library,


	7. All hell Breaks Loose

Chapter 7- All hell Breaks Loose

Jackson Nicholls was finishing up a paint job when he noticed a black van pull up to his house. So far, the afternoon had been perfect. He had been painting the house and thinking about the Torah reading he would be required to read on Shabbat in front of the synagogue. Jackson felt his smile drop as a man in a suit got out of his car. _Stryker!_ What in the name of heaven was he doing here?

Stryker turned to face Jackson. "Hello, Doctor Nicholls," the man drawled with fake pleasantness.

"How did you find me, William?" Jackson asked. Jackson was one of the few who knew Stryker's first name as they were first cousins on their mothers side.

"I never lost you, Cousin. After you left when the Xavier girl went missing, I asked Aunt Joanna where you went. She said you came here to New London with Naomi. Speaking of which, how is Naomi?" Stryker asked.

"She's good. She's cooking and cleaning for Shabbat at sundown and our daughter Sarah is on the way home from a project she was doing at the library," Jackson said, hoping Stryker wouldn't ask too many questions about Sarah.

"I thought Naomi was unable to have children," Stryker said, furrowing his eyebrows.

"She was. We adopted Sarah after coming here," Jackson said, hoping his cousin wouldn't look into the "Adoption." But this was William Stryker. He was like a dog that refused to drop a bone once he suspected something. And he would suspect when there would be no record of Jackson and Naomi adopting a little girl.

"I was wondering if you'd like to help me," Stryker asked.

"With what, William?" Jackson asked guardedly.

"I'm looking for mutants and Xavier's brat especially. And I could use your medical expertise," Stryker said.

"No. We've been through this. I won't experiment on children, mutant or otherwise. I don't care if you don't see them as children. I do. The look on Amanda Xavier's face when you forced me to wipe her memory has haunted me. She was a three-year-old, William. Three!" Jackson nearly shouted.

"Nice attitude that you have towards your humanity," Stryker mocked.

"It's because I'm human that I can't. And I don't know how you can either. William, is this because of your son? You wanted Xavier to "Fix" him and when he couldn't you got even by stealing his daughter. All I can say is that the drugs we injected her with should make it nearly impossible for her memories to come back and damped down her x-gene where Xavier can't find her or if he does he won't know it's her," Jackson said as Sarah came pedaling up the road on her bike.

"Shalom, Abba!" Sarah sang out as she went to the shed and put her bike in.

"Shalom, Sarah. Go help your Ima with dinner," Jackson said as Sarah breezed past him and kissed his cheek.

"All right. Are Aunt Shoshanna and Uncle Jonathan coming tonight for Shabbat?" Sarah asked.

"Uh-uh. Tell your mother I should be in to clean up in a minute. And, William, I have chores to do. If you'll excuse me," Jackson said, picking up his paintbrush.

"Sorry I wasted your time, Jack," Stryker said as he went back to his van.

* * *

Naomi looked up from the challah bread she had just put in the oven. "What's the matter, Jack?" Naomi asked, a look of concern in her dark brown eyes,

"William. He found us and I don't think it'll take him long to figure out about Sarah," Jackson said.

"Oh, no. Jack, what do we do?" Naomi asked, a fearful look on her face.

"We have two options. We can run and hide like we've been doing. Or we can return Sarah to her father. We can make it where Xavier will have no idea that Sarah is really Amanda. The only way he would know would be through that device Cerebro and a DNA test," Jackson said.

"I just don't know, Jackson. Neither choice sounds like an ideal on, but if we turn her over to William, that wouldn't be good either. You did say he doesn't think of mutant children as just children," Naomi said, her voice shaking.

"No. He's about as bad as Josef Mengele at Auschwitz with twins and he wanted to experiment on them," Jackson said, running his hand through his hair.


	8. Escaping

Chapter 8- Escaping

If anything Jackson and Naomi were quieter tonight. They had been closemouthed about the man talking to Jackson when Sarah had come home from the library. They had even called Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Shoshanna, asking them to come next week. Finally Sarah couldn't take anymore. "Okay. I think we can find more cheer in a graveyard. What's happening, Abba, Ima?" Sarah asked, looking at both of her parents.

"Who says anything's wrong?" Jackson asked, taking a bite of Challah bread.

"Well, you two are a lot more festive on Friday nights than you are tonight and you haven't complimented Ima on her cholent or challah bread. You hate kugel and you ate it without making a face," Sarah said to her father.

"You're a little too observant, Sass," Jackson said, a smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Okay. Now I know something is wrong. Only my friends call me that," Sarah said.

"Me and your Abba are just worried about that man who came by today," Naomi said, taking a bite of challah bread.

"The guy in the van? What is he to us?" Sarah asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"He's my cousin. William Stryker. He also might discover that you are a mutant," Jackson said.

"I don't know how. I pretty much keep a low profile. Unless my adoption certificate is not as kosher as our Shabbat meal. It is, isn't it?" Sarah asked, looking between her parents.

"I guess we'd better tell you the truth. It happened when you were three. I was a doctor at a facility in Upstate New York around Albany. William never liked mutants, not even mutant children. Not even his own son who was a mutant. He sent his son Jason to Charles Xavier in the hopes that Xavier could "fix" what was wrong, but as you know, mutants aren't a disease that can be cured. When William found that out, he was angry and stole the one person besides Xavier's wife and son who meant the world to him; his daughter Amanda. I helped him, to my shame, kidnap the little girl. He forced me to wipe her memory when I realized what I had done. He wanted to use her as a weapon against her father. When I found out what he planned to do, I took the child and made plans to disappear. Sarah, you ARE Amanda Xavier," Jackson said. Sarah felt tears slip out of her eyes.

"Abba, I...I...don't remember," Sarah said.

"I know. It's the drugs. Me and Ima think that if we return you to your father in Westchester, me, your father, and his friend Dr. Hank McCoy can help you with your memory. Your father has a machine called Cerebro that he uses to detect mutants and Hank McCoy and I can synthesize an antidote to reverse the damage the drug has caused. So are you mad at me?" Jackson asked guardedly

"I should be, but I don't feel mad right now. Maybe tomorrow and when do we plan to go to Westchester?" Sarah asked.

"It would have to be either tonight or very early tomorrow, before William comes back and takes you by force if he discovers who you are," Jackson said, reaching out and squeezing her hand.

"What about Shabbat? Wouldn't that be breaking it and tantamount to eating pig meat?" Sarah asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"It would, but I think the Eternal would forgive us for this as we are saving a life; yours," Naomi said.

"Okay. So what's the plan?" Sarah asked.

"After we eat, go pack a suitcase. We can try to see if we can be out of here by midnight. Between here and Westchester, we can find a hotel to stop at," Jackson said.

"Well, I hope you are right, Ima, about the Eternal forgiving us for this," Sarah said as she picked up a piece of challah bread.

* * *

It didn't take long for everyone to finish eating and head to their rooms to pack. "I hope you have a plan, Jack," Naomi said nervously as the packed their clothes.

"I'm having to make this up as I go. Amanda Xavier didn't exactly come with a instruction manual, but most kids don't mutant or otherwise," Jackson said.

"Jack, I'm frightened. What if Stryker-" Naomi said, voicing Jackson's concerns.

"I know, baby. I know. I'm afraid too. I have seen the blood in William's eyes when he's hunting mutants. It's like watching a dog or cock fight. He accuses mutants like Sarah of not being human, but the way he treats them is not human either," Jackson said, snapping a suitcase closed.

"All right. I'm ready. Let's go see if Sarah is done," Naomi said. Naomi and Jackson walked down the hall to Sarah's room. Sarah had packed two suitcases and a carryon bag and was sitting on her window seat.

"Are you ready?" Jackson asked.

"Yeah," Sarah said and Jack picked up one of her suitcases while Sarah picked up the other and her carryon.

"I hope you didn't pack a bunch of stuff you don't need, Sarah," Naomi said.

"No. If she wants anything from our life, I hope she did pack it, Naomi," Jackson said as they made their way to the garage and he opened the garage door and put their things in the trunk. It didn't take long to leave and go down the road. Jackson felt some relief. It didn't appear that Stryker was following them. Maybe they could get to Xavier's mansion before William discovered them gone.


	9. Arrival

Chapter 9- Arrival

Sarah looked in dumbstruck awe at the Xavier mansion. So this was where her real father lived. It was amazing and felt kind of familiar, but no memories came to mind as she looked. "Anything?" Naomi asked.

"Nope. It looks familiar. I will give it that, but I have nothing. Nothing comes to mind," Sarah said as they got out of the car.

"Maybe something will when you see Xavier. I just hope he's in and not finding students right now. I also hope he's very forgiving as I was the one who stole his daughter," Jackson said, scrubbing his face wearily with his large hand.

"Maybe he won't be angry if I say I don't blame you for it as you saved me from being a lab rat and later a weapon against him," Sarah said as they walked into the main foyer. It was enormous with oak panels and staircases. It looked like something out of the books Sarah read about England.

Sarah's eyes roamed the foyer, not even noticing the person who came up to talk to her mother and father. Her eyes then went back to a man with horn-rimmed glasses and brown hair. "Hi, my name is Hank McCoy. I'm one of the teachers here at the school," Hank said as he shook hands with all of them.

"I'm Jackson Nicholls, my wife Naomi, and our daughter, Sarah. I need to see Charles Xavier. Is he in?" Jackson asked

"He's in his office. I'll show you the way," Hank said and he walked down a hall to a set of doors that appeared to slide back. Hank knocked.

"Yes?" A distinct British voice asked from inside.

"Charles, I have someone who wants to see you," Hank said.

"Show them in, Hank," the voice said.

"I'd better go in first. He's going to be shocked. I had better prepare him," Jackson said with a visible gulp as he entered the office.

* * *

Charles looked up from paperwork as a man entered his office. The man was of medium height, light complexion, and blond hair and brown eyes. Another thing Charles noticed was how nervous the man looked. "Hello. My name is Charles Xavier. May I help you?" Charles asked.

"Professor, you don't know me, but I know all about this place and I know your daughter, Amanda," the man said, nearly felling Charles.

"Amanda? How do you know my daughter?" Charles asked in a low voice.

"My name is Dr. Jackson Nicholls. I worked at a medical facility for William Stryker. He kidnapped your daughter and a couple of other mutants. I was just like him. I didn't see Amanda and those children as kids. I saw them as he did; not a viable human being. Stryker made me inject all of them with a serum that has affected their minds. Professor, Amanda doesn't remember you or any of this, which is surprising as eidetic memory is one of her mutations," Nicholls said.

"Where is she?" Charles asked, feeling sadness, anger, and happiness all at once.

"Outside in the hall. But, she really doesn't remember anything. The drug was that effective. Once I saw what it did to her, I walked away from Stryker's plans and took her with me to protect her," Nicholls said.

Charles opened the door and saw Hank and a short dark woman sitting next to a girl, who looked fourteen or fifteen. Charles felt his breath catch as he looked at the girl. She had shoulder-length brown hair and was smiling at the woman. The look was one Moira had when happy. "Allow me, Professor. Hey, Sass," Nicholls said, flicking his fingertips at Amanda's ear.

"Abba, stop it," Amanda said, rolling her eyes. Correction, Charles's eyes.

"Sarah, I want you to meet someone. This is Charles Xavier," Nicholls said, resting a hand on Amanda's thin shoulder and pushing her to Charles. A look of surprise entered her blue eyes.

"You! I know you," Amanda said, her voice trembling slightly.

You should. You have always known me, my love," Charles said, pulling her down so her eyes could meet his.

"I used to see you at odd times during the day; often when I was reading a book," Amanda said, as Charles stroked her hair and face gently. It was to his immense joy that she didn't back away from him.

"I used to read to you every night after dinner and before you went to bed. You would sit on my lap and help me turn the pages," Charles said. Amanda's eyes filled with tears. Charles raised his hand to her temples.

"What are you doing?" Amanda asked.

"Allow me to do this, Amanda. I want to go into your mind and see the damage that was done," Charles said, stroking her forehead tenderly with his temples.

"Charles, maybe we should do this in my lab," Hank suggested.

"All right. I can wait a few minutes. Jennifer?" Charles asked a young girl as she walked down the hallway.

"Yes, Professor?" The girl asked.

"Will you go to my private quarters and get Mrs. Xavier and David? They are needed in Dr. McCoy's lab," Charles said. Moira and David would want to be there as Moira had missed Amanda as much as he did and Amanda was the reason that Charles was so strict with his son.

* * *

Sarah was on a hospital bed, Charles Xavier stroking her forehead gently. His gentle hand on her forehead was enough to make her feel sleepy. Sarah started to feel herself nod off when the door opened and a woman with light auburn hair, followed by a boy with reddish hair too, entered the lab. The Professor had yet to take his hand from her forehead as he turned to face them. "Charles, what's wrong?" The woman asked. Before he could answer she looked right at Sarah and her face paled and her breath caught. "Amanda?" The woman asked with a strangled sob as her eyes filled with tears. She looked at the Professor quickly.

"Yes, my love, it's Amanda," the professor said. It was all the woman needed to hear. She wrapped her arms around Sarah and hugged her tightly. Mrs. Xavier had to be her mother. Her mother sobbed into her hair and kissed her forehead. Sarah found herself hugging her back, feeling that it was right that she hugged both Charles and Moira.


	10. Retrieving Memories

Chapter 10- Retrieving Memories

Sarah sat on the hospital bed, Charles's hand on her knee and Moira's arms around her shoulders as Jackson explained again how she had come to live with him and Naomi. "So, you see. William hates all mutants and he has never forgiven you for not "fixing" Jason," Jackson said.

"But you can't fix a mutant. We're all born with it," David, Sarah's brother pointed out

"We all know that, David. And there is nothing wrong with any of us any way. There is nothing to fix," Hank said.

"Well, except for this, Doctor. Are you and Abba smart enough to bring my memories back?" Sarah asked, touching her head to indicate her memory.

"Maybe, we'll have to take blood, skin, and bone marrow samples and see if we can synthesize an antidote," Jackson said.

"Okay. Why do I get the feeling I'm gonna hate myself for this? I just signed up for medical experimentation by Josef Mengele wannabes," Sarah said, rolling her eyes.

"The Death Angel of Auschwitz? That's the best insult you can do?" Jackson said, looking at her over his glasses.

"You got another name for it, Abba?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah. Being a doctor?" Jackson ventured.

"I think Josef Mengele was a doctor too, Sweetheart," Naomi said.

"Thank you, Mother," Sarah said.

"Don't encourage her, Naomi. You're supposed to be on my side," Jackson said to his wife.

"I know, but Sarah does have a point, dear," Naomi said.

"Of course she does. She's never wrong. Now open up, brat," Jackson said, tapping the side of her face gently. Sarah opened her mouth and he stuck the scraper inside, removing some of the skin tissue.

"Well, so far, so good," Sarah commented as she closed her mouth.

"I need to draw blood," Jackson said in his best Dracula voice.

"Okay. When Abba starts to sound like Bela Lugosi, that's when I wanna deck him with a pillow. The day before we disappeared me and him were watching " _Abbot and Costello meets Frankenstein,"_ Sarah said.

"Who's Bela Lugosi and Abbot and Costello?" David asked. Everyone turned to look at him.

"Xavier, this boy of yours has never seen Bela Lugosi or Abbot and Costello?" Jackson asked as he prepped a needle to stick in Sarah's arm.

"No, not that I am aware of. But it seems as if you have introduced my daughter to it," Charles said, squeezing Sarah's knee gently.

"I have a good reason for it, Professor. I like old movies. Me and Ima watch _Gone with the Wind._ But then again we also watched _Schindler's List_ and _Titanic_ ," Sarah said as Jackson stuck the needle in her arm and drew both. Sarah exhaled sharply, the pain only momentary.

"Yeah and I didn't want you watching either one. Now I need to extract some bone marrow. Now this is gonna hurt worse than a needle to your arm," Jackson said. Sarah turned on her side, facing Charles. Charles reached forward , stroking her face tenderly. Sarah cried out as soon as the needle punctured her hip. She whimpered softly.

"I don't think I'm gonna be sitting up any time soon," Sarah groaned.

""Charles, I think you can try Cerebro now," Hank said as Jackson handed him the samples.

"Of course. Amanda, can you walk or do I need to have you carried?" Charles asked, the gentle touch of his hand on her forehead and face making her feel sleepy.

"I'll try to walk, Professor. I heal pretty fast. Besides eidetic memory, that is one of my powers. I cut myself with a butcher knife last Chanukah, making latkes, and I healed in under five minutes," Sarah said as she got up.

"Your brother has the same ability to heal himself. Come with me, Sweet," Charles said as he led her down the stainless steel corridor to a sealed room.

 _"Welcome, Professor,"_ a mechanical female voice said as a bluish-white scan went over his face and they entered a large, cavernous room.

"Now what?" Sarah asked her father.

"Now, we try to see what I can find. Amanda, this might hurt and I am sorry for that. Amanda, you need to let me into your mind," Charles said, pulling her down and placing his hands on her temples.

"It is going to hurt?" Sarah asked as she looked into her father's eyes.

"Yes and I am sorry. Now just relax, my love. I will be as gentle as possible," Charles said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Sarah gave a cry as a pain shot through her head. She would have backed away if not for his hands on her temples. Just as quickly, he backed away, removing his hands from her head.

"Is it bad, Professor?" Sarah asked. Charles moved his hands to her cheeks and stroked gently.

"I found the block. I can't move past that without the antidote. If I try to I am afraid of what I could do. I could reduce you to a vegetable state if I'm not careful and I never wanted to hurt you. I love you too much," Charles said, kissing her forehead in a loving manner.

"Couldn't we risk it?" Sarah asked. Her father smiled briefly.

"No. I am not willing to make that high of a gamble when I could kill you. Like I said, I love you and I don't like hurting you any more than I just did. Now, why don't you tell me some things you like to do besides watch old movies while we wait for Nicholls and your Uncle Hank to synthesize the antidote?" Charles suggested.

"I wouldn't know where to start, Professor," Sarah said.

"Well, let's start there. You used to call me "Daddy." Do you think you can try again to call me that?" Charles asked.

"I can...I can try I suppose, but you are aware I might slip up and call you "Professor?" Sarah asked, her voice choking slightly.

* * *

Charles looked at his daughter. "I understand, Amanda. You are my girl, but it's going to be difficult. We'll take it one step at a time. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is Amanda Xavier," Charles said. Charles hugged his daughter tightly, combing his fingers through her dark hair. It was a good thing Amanda couldn't see his face. She would have seen the absolute heartbreak in his eyes. Charles hoped that Jackson and Hank made the antidote soon. The sooner she had her memories back, the better.


	11. Retrieving Memories Prt II

Chapter 11- Retrieving Memories Part II

Charles sat at his desk in his office, going over a student's paperwork. Charles was muddling it horribly. He could hardly keep his eyes off Amanda. She had fallen asleep on his couch. His baby was truly exhausted as Dr. Nicholls had said that they had broken Shabbat and driven all night just to get here and away from Stryker. Hearing the circumstances of what Stryker had tried to do, Charles couldn't be angry at Dr. Nicholls or his wife. They had protected Amanda and had shown that they truly cared for her.

Charles left his desk and went to Amanda. Amanda had always been a very sound sleeper. All the years away hadn't changed that detail. Charles rested his hand on her head. With his mutation he suddenly saw what his girl was dreaming. She was at a school and talking with people at lunch time about books and the Jewish diet she followed religiously. She mentioned something about cheese blintzes and kugel; two foods Charles would ask Nicholls about. If his daughter loved those dishes, he would make sure she had them. David had always groused that being his son and Charles being the principal at Xavier's School For the Gifted was no picnic. David had to try harder to make good grades to please Charles. Charles had always tried to say David's grades didn't matter as long as he did his best. Charles hoped that Amanda didn't kill herself just to please him with her grades.

Amanda groaned in her sleep and blinked her eyes sleepily at him. Charles smiled, stroking her forehead tenderly. What is it, Professor?" Amanda asked.

"Nothing. I'm just watching you sleep. When you were little, I used to watch you sleep all the time. That was when I would read to you the most. We had just finished " _Great Expectations_ " and I was going to read to you " _War and Peace"_ when Stryker took you," Charles said.

"I saw the movies for both books, but I haven't read them yet," Amanda said with a yawn.

"I will introduce you to classics once I get your schedule under way. You should be in two of my classes, like David. Literature and how to control your powers. What was your favorite subject among the humans?" Charles asked as she sat up.

"History and Polish. At my school they gave a wide selection of languages and I opted for Polish. The next language is German and Russian. Thanks to my memory, I can learn languages a lot quicker than most. It didn't take me long to learn Hebrew when I had my Bat Mitzvah," Amanda said as Hank came in.

"Charles, we're ready," Hank said.

"All right. Are you ready, Amanda?" Charles asked, stroking her face tenderly.

"I guess so. Will it hurt, Dr. McCoy?" Amanda asked nervously.

"Not any more than your dad going into your mind to see how bad the block was," Hank said.

"Oh. That one did hurt," Amanda said with a slight wince.

"I know it did. Charles, we're gonna need you to go into her mind after we administer the antidote. We need to know if the block is breaking," Hank said.

"All right. Come along, Love. The quicker we get this done, the better," Charles said, taking her by the hand and pulling her to her feet. They went back to Hank's lab. Charles looked at his daughter. She was nervous and licking her lips.

"All right. Here's the antidote. You ready?" Nicholls asked.

"I don't know, Abba. How does anyone get ready for this?" Amanda asked. Nicholls touched her face gently.

"One step at a time. You weren't ready when I hurt you when you were three. This time it's your choice," Nicholls said as Amanda sat down on the hospital bed.

"I was told it was going to hurt," Amanda said.

"It hurt the first time, but hopefully you should remember everything," Nicholls said as he cleaned a spot on the back of Amanda's neck and thrust the needle in. Amanda's eyes rolled into her head and she passed out.

Hank flashed a light in her eyes. "Well?" Moira asked from her spot beside Charles.

"She's sedated. Charles, I think we should try Cerebro now. If the block is breaking then you can go into her mind and trigger the locked memories," Hank said as he turned off the light.

"All right. Let's try it," Charles said as he, Hank, and Nicholls went to Cerebro, Nicholls holding Amanda.

* * *

It didn't take long to find the blockage. This time Charles could see it disintegrating and the x-gene that had been muted starting to shine as big as it did when his daughter was a baby. "Okay, the antidote is working. The block is breaking," Charles said, removing his hands from her temples.

"We won't know the full extent until she wakes up. How much can you unlock, Professor?" Nicholls asked.

"I can only unlock so much, Nicholls. Some of her memory will have to come back on its own. But since the drugs you gave her years ago are going, it shouldn't be all that long. But we don't want to be in here all night. Let's take her to her bedroom and put her to bed. When she wakes up, we'll see how it goes," Charles said as Nicholls picked her up and followed Charles and Hank to Amanda's bedroom.

"I'll go get Moira, David, and Naomi. They'd want to be here," Hank said to Charles after they tucked Amanda into her bed.

"Thank you, Hank. Nicholls, are you okay?" Charles asked as he started to stroke his daughter's forehead gently.

"I'm fine. I just...I should have brought her to you a long time ago. I was scared and thought that she needed protection. I had no idea that Stryker would come back," Nicholls said as he sat on Amanda's other side and squeezed her limp hand gently.

"From what I have seen in my daughter's memories, you did the best you could. Being a father is sometimes about making what we think is the best choice for them. My son had often gotten angry when I make a choice that's for his own good," Charles said, caressing the dark brown strands of his daughters hair.

"She is so beautiful when she's asleep. She doesn't look as if she has a care in the world. I look in on her often to make sure she's okay," Nicholls said.

"I did that too and I also check on David. I think it's to make sure they are still breathing," Charles said as the door opened and Moira, Mrs. Nicholls, and David came in followed by Hank and Raven, who had been away on a mission.

"Raven?" Charles asked, removing his hand from Amanda's hair and his adopted sister gave him a hug.

"Hank told me Amanda was back. Charles, does she remember anything about any of us?" Raven asked, her eyes tearing over as she looked at Amanda.

"We won't know much of anything until she wakes up. I have been able to see some of her more recent memories, but not much of what happened when she was taken. There was a block, which is now starting to disappear," Charles said, placing his hand back on Amanda's head.

"Well, I suppose we either should get some coffee or go to sleep. It should be awhile before she wakes up if me and Hank timed the sedatives right in that dose we gave her," Nicholls said, looking at his watch.

"How long should she be out, Jack?" Mrs. Nicholls asked.

"It's a heavy concentration of sedatives. It also repairs the damage that the drugs I gave her before caused. She should sleep between 24 to 36 hours," Nicholls said.

"Well, then I guess we get some coffee and wait it out," Hank said. Raven, Moira and Mrs. Nicholls went to get the coffee and Charles, Hank, Dr. Nicholls, and David talked while they waited.


	12. Retrieving Memories Prt III

Chapter 12- Retrieving Memories Prt. III

Charles refused to leave his daughter's bedside the whole time she was under. He had one hand on her wrist and the other on her forehead, gently rubbing her forehead with his fingers. On the second day, the door opened revealing Raven, Hank, and Erik. "Hello, Charles," Erik said.

"Hello, old friend. What brings you here?" Charles asked, his eyes on his daughter's still face.

"I came to see Peter and Raven told me that Amanda had come back and what had to be done to her," Erik said, sitting on the other side of Amanda's bed.

"Yes. I regret that we had to drug her, but it was necessary. I will have my daughter back," Charles said, raising Amanda's limp hand to his lips and kissing the palm gently.

"She doesn't remember anything?" Erik asked.

"No. A few memories here and there, but none that could help. The damage that Stryker forced on her was extensive. Hank and Dr. Nicholls hope that the antidote will repair it. We should see some results in two or three hours when the antidote has run it's course," Charles said.

Erik looked down and noticed the necklace around Amanda's neck. "She's been raised Jewish. She's wearing a Star of David," Erik said.

"Yes. I gave that to her on the day of her bat mitzvah," Nicholls said, a bowl of broth in his hands.

"Erik, this is Jackson Nicholls. He's been taking care of Amanda all this time," Charles said as Nicholls laid the bowl on the night table and stuck an eyedropper in the liquid.

"You kidnapped her?" Erik asked, his expression getting angry.

"I make no excuses for what I did, Mr. Lehnsherr. I thought like William Stryker when it came to mutants. But the look on her face when I hurt her. I had to get her away from him. He would have torn her apart and used her as a weapon against anyone who was a mutant, even her own father. It doesn't excuse what I did for my part in taking her, but I hope you and your wife can forgive me," Jackson said as he forced Amanda's mouth open and squirted the liquid into her mouth.

"I have and I do understand. You kept my daughter safe. I just feel terrible that we have to hurt her again to bring her memories back," Charles said.

"She'll understand and forgive us. One thing can be said for her, she doesn't hold a grudge. She was angry because I wouldn't let her join the girls' basketball team, but she wasn't angry long," Jack said, picking up a napkin and wiping some of the broth off her face.

"You have a problem with basketball?" Erik asked.

"None whatsoever. I played, but the reasons I gave her was she could unintentionally hurt someone with her powers and the games are on Friday nights at the school. I wasn't Jewish when I played with Shabbat commitments. She is. Shabbat starts on Friday at sundown," Jackson said.

A slight groan got all of their attentions. Amanda's eyes opened slowly, blinking. "Amanda?" Charles asked, stroking her forehead gently.

"Daddy?" Amanda asked, causing Charles's heart to leap.

"Yes, I am here, sweet," Charles said, gently raising her hand to his lips.

"My head hurts, Daddy. Too much information," Amanda said, swallowing as she closed her eyes.

"Xavier, we have to keep her awake. Sass, I know it hurts, but stay awake," Jackson said, lightly running his hand over Amanda's face. Amanda opened her eyes again.

"Abba?" Amanda asked.

"Yeah, I'm here too. Stay awake, Sass. All right, what is the earliest memory you have?" Jackson asked. Amanda wrinkled her forehead in concentration.

"Having a tea party with Jean, Ororo, and Aunt Raven and I think that night, Daddy read me "The Once and Future King," I think," Amanda said with a soft groan.

"That is correct, love," Charles said.

"Anything else?" Jackson asked. Amanda looked over at Erik.

"Hi, Uncle Erik. Uncle Erik has a tattoo on his forearm that he got in a Nazi concentration camp during the second world war. There he was a lab rat because he can bend metal," Amanda said.

"Is she correct, Lehnsherr?" Jackson asked.

"She is correct. Amanda, you know what this is?" Erik asked, baring his arm to reveal the Nazi identification number.

"Unfortunately I do, Uncle Erik. I'm a Jew, raised in the values of my people. Every Jew on the planet is raised knowing the stories of the Holocaust. "The Diary of Anne Frank" is one of my favorite books other than the Torah and the Tanakh," Amanda said.

"You've read "Anne Frank?" Erik asked.

"Uh-uh. I was twelve when I read it the first time. Some girls told me about it at a swimming pool that summer and I got interested. When I went back to school that fall, I checked out a book about it and then my teacher did a whole study about the Holocaust," Amanda said. **(A/N: Actually half of this happened to me. I was twelve when I got interested in the Holocaust because I had gone swimming and some girls from an army base in South Carolina told me the story and I checked out a biography about Anne when school started and then bought my first copy of the diary. I have read it quite a few times since then and seen movies and specials about Anne. And my sister was the one whose teacher did a study on it in the 6th grade.)**

Amanda groaned, moving her hand to her forehead. Charles squeezed her fingers lightly. "it's all right, love. It's all right," Charles said as Moira, David and Naomi came in.

"How is she?" Moira asked.

"Mama?" Amanda asked with a whimper as she fixed her glassy eyes on Moira. Moira came to Amanda's side and gently picked her up, hugging her tightly and running her fingers through Amanda's hair.

"My baby," Moira said, kissing Amanda through her hair. Amanda then fell into a deep sleep, going completely limp in her mother's arms.

"I think that is all that can be done for right now. She needs to sleep. A lot of the damage has been repaired. She needs to sleep and let the antidote complete the rest of the healing," Jackson said.

"And how long is that, Dr. Nicholls?" Moira asked as she laid Amanda back on her pillows.

"It could go for as little as two or three hours to two or three weeks. Her mutant genetics are just way too complicated. But at least we saw some progress. She remembers you, your husband, and Erik Lehnsherr," Jackson said as another vigil by Amanda's bed started.


	13. Waking Up

Chapter 13- Waking Up

Amanda Xavier felt herself come back to consciousness. The first thing that she felt was as if someone had glued her eyes shut. It took a great effort to force them open. She looked around, disappointed that the room was empty, save her. "Dad?" Amanda called out.

 _Amanda, I am in my office. You remember where it is. Get out of bed and come to my office,_ her father's voice said gently but firmly into her mind.

"I don't think I do, Dad," Amanda said as she opened the door.

 _You do, Sweets. You remember the way. You knew you were in your bedroom and your aunt Raven and uncle Erik. You remember where my office is,_ Charles said, his voice as gentle as the hugs she now remembered.

Amanda made her way down the hallways, her mind then going back to the last time she saw her home. Tears came to her eyes as she came to a door. Her father's office. she slid open the door and saw her father in his chair, surrounded by students with a book in his hand. "Well, good morning, love. Welcome. Children, this is my daughter, Amanda. She will join this class tomorrow," Charles said as he closed the book.

"Hello, I think?" Amanda asked as she looked around.

"Very good, everyone. Top marks and you are dismissed," Charles said and all the children got up and ran out the door.

"So, this really is a school?" Amanda asked as she went to her father and he pulled her onto his lap.

"Yes, it is, love. It really is. How do you feel?" Charles asked, stroking her face tenderly.

"Tired and a little sore. How long was I asleep?" Amanda said as Charles rubbed her forehead tenderly with his fingers.

"Almost two weeks. Now, I need to go into your mind, Just relax and let me in," Charles said, pressing his palms on both sides of her head and his fingers on her temples. The pain she had felt before when he had entered wasn't nearly as painful. Granted, it still hurt, but the pain was less.

The probing was gone soon and Charles leaned forward and kissed her forehead tenderly. "Well?" Amanda asked.

"The damage done by the drugs are breaking. I can still see a few spots, but other than that, you are almost back to normal," Charles said, twisting his fingers into her hair.

"Will it always hurt when you go into my mind, Daddy?" Amanda asked, burying her face into his shoulder.

"I don't think so. It hurt this time because of the drugs and you aren't used to having me in your head. But I promise that I will be as gentle as possible," Charles said, combing through her dark hair gently and kissing her through her hair. David and Moira just entered the office.

"How is she, Charles?" Moira asked, sitting on Charles other knee and stroking the back of Amanda's head.

"We have our girl almost back to normal. Right, love?" Charles asked.

"Right. So do we plan my class schedule now?" Amanda asked, raising her head from Charles's shoulder.

"Don't you want to eat first, baby?" Moira asked.

"I guess I do feel a little hungry. I could eat Carciofi Alla Giudia," Amanda said, feeling her stomach growl with hunger.

"What?" David asked, confused.

"Fried artichokes that have been fried in olive oil. We usually eat them at Yom Kippur to break fasting. It goes back to the 16th century when all the Jews in Rome were in a ghetto," Amanda said.

"Sounds disgusting," David said, making a face.

"Not really. I like artichokes. Ima never had a problem getting me to eat vegetables," Amanda said.

"Well, we will go to dinner and then me and you will come back here and plan your schedule. I hope you like roast beef and potatoes," Charles said.

"Depends on how you make it and what I am drinking with it. Usually with meat I have wine as milk is forbidden with meat or I can have a glass of coke or tea. I usually save the wine for Passover," Amanda said as they all went to the dining room.

* * *

Amanda followed Charles to his office and she sat down in the chair in front of his desk, folding her hands primly on her knees. Charles had to remind himself that this was a student as well as his daughter. She had accepted the return of her memories and seemed to accept his role and authority as her father. Charles reached out and squeezed her hands gently. "First question, I suppose is, what kind of things do you like to study, love?" Charles asked.

"Well, if Abba will give you my transcripts from the school in New London, I handled school pretty well. My favorite classes besides Polish was history, English Literature, and Reading. Math and Science is a little harder, but I normally can grasp it well enough not to fail at it," Amanda said, pushing a lock of her tangled dark hair behind her ear.

"All right. This is how we will handle your schedule, love. Twice a day you come to my office with the group you saw earlier. The first time is for lessons in how to control your powers, the second will be in the class you just walked in on; literature. I will give you the book we are currently reading in that class. I want you to read it and try to catch up," Charles said, handing her a copy of _"King Arthur and His Knights."_

Amanda looked at the cover and laid it on the desk. "All right. So what are my other courses?" Amanda asked.

"Your first class of the day will be Mathematics. Since you are fourteen it should be Algebra. The next class is mine on your powers. Your next class will be science with your uncle Hank. He also will be your algebra teacher. Ororo will teach you history after lunch, then your mother teaches home economics and then you come to me for your last class of the day," Charles said.

"What about foreign languages, Dad?" Amanda asked, furrowing her forehead.

"We don't really teach a lot of foreign languages, but we can get tapes and books for it, if you still wish to learn Polish. And that brings me to another thing, in the school hours I am the professor. After school hours you can be my daughter. During school hours I am going to treat you like any other student," Charles said, stroking her face tenderly.

"Okay. I'll remember that, Dad," Amanda said. Charles smiled briefly.

"See that you do, love. Now why don't you show me what your powers are so I can see what I'm dealing with," Charles said.

Amanda hesitated slightly. "Dad, eidetic memory is a little hard to show and I'd have to hurt myself to show you that power and the third power comes when I am asleep," Amanda said.

"What do you mean you have to hurt yourself?" Charles asked.

"I regenerate and can heal myself. Remember, I cut myself with a butcher knife making latkes and I healed in under five minutes," Amanda said.

"I see. No, I do not want you to hurt yourself and I can wait and check on you one morning while you are asleep to see that other power. Now, the eidetic memory, I can wait and see what happens with that. Now, let's go to the parlor. The whole school, not to mention your mother, has been wanting to see you," vharles said as he escorted her out of the office.


	14. Bonding

Chapter 12- Bonding

Amanda looked out her bedroom window. Since it was Friday, her father had explained that she didn't have to think about school until Monday. Being at this school felt familiar and strange at the same time. Everything was as Amanda was now remembering, but she also was remembering her life as Sarah Nicholls. It also hadn't been easy that she hadn't seen Jackson or Naomi since waking up. Her father had said they were on the grounds, but they had agreed to keep their distance as Amanda rebonded with her family.

Amanda turned as the door to her room opened and Moira stepped in. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?" Her mother asked as she walked to her and gently stroked Amanda's face and hair gently.

"All right, I guess, Mama. It's funny. This place feels familiar, but it feels strange too and I don't quite know how to tell Daddy," Amanda felt, feeling a little forlorn at having to tell her mother all this.

Moira smiled gently and pulled her into her arms, pressing Amanda's head to her shoulder. "Your father knows, baby, and understands. But me, your father, and David are all here for you. We want to help you adjust to life here, but you do have to try. Can you try, sweetheart?" Moira asked, the gentle hand running through Amanda's hair making her feel safe and loved.

"I guess so, Mama," Amanda said and Moira kissed her forehead.

"I'm glad, Amanda. Now, let's go. Me and your aunt Raven want to take you shopping for school clothes and I need your father's credit card," Moira said as Raven entered the room. Apparently she had decided to be blue instead of looking human, but Amanda wasn't afraid of her aunt. She also wasn't afraid when she saw Hank looking blue either or Kurt Wagner, who everyone called Nightcrawler.

"Did you tell her?" Raven asked.

"Yes, she told me, Aunt Raven. I just hope neither of you mind shopping with me as I am the worst shopper in the world unless it's a movie or book. It was easier to go see "Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace" than it was school clothes when school started a few months ago," Amanda said, rolling her eyes.

"You like "Star Wars?" Raven asked.

"I love "Star Wars." Jedi knights are so cool," Amanda said as they left her room and Raven and Moira stood on either side of her. The gesture was like Moira's hand running through her hair; a feeling of safety washed through her. They stopped in front of Charles's study and Moira knocked on the door.

"Come in," Charles's voice called out to them. Moira opened the door and they entered Charles's office. Charles looked up from some paperwork and giving his wife and daughter a smile rolled his wheelchair up to them.

"Charles, I need you're credit card," Moira said, after giving Charles a quick kiss.

"I see. Well, I see no problem as long as you buy our girl whatever she wants," Charles said as he gave Moira the card.

"Dad, I don't want everything," Amanda said.

"Just indulge us this, Sweets," Charles said, pulling her down onto his lap and cupping her face gently.

"Your father is right, baby. You deserve it and more. After we shop, me and Raven will take you out to eat," Moira said, stroking the back of her head gently.

"You two have ganged up on me," Amanda said.

"That's right and don't argue with us. You'll lose, love," Charles said, kissing her forehead.

"Is it safe for me to even go out with Stryker looking for me?" Amanda asked.

"It should be if you stay close to me or Raven," Moira said as Amanda stood up and they left the mansion. At one point about halfway Raven had decided to look human.

"Aunt Raven, if you aren't ashamed of your blue skin, why do you morph into a human?" Amanda asked, furrowing her forehead.

"That's actually what Erik has asked me. It's easier actually for me to look human while I am doing chores as most people are terrified when they see me blue," Raven said, turning to look at Amanda as Moira was the one driving.

"I don't know why. It's not like you're Frankenstein's monster. You're probably more human than most humans, Aunt Raven," Amanda said. Raven reached over and stroked her face gently.

"And you are sweet to say that, but, sadly, not all humans are like your mother," Raven said.

"So, what kind of clothes do you wear, baby?" Moira asked, changing the subject.

"I wear blue jeans a lot and any shirt that I can pull over my head, t-shirts and turtlenecks. I don't really dress up a whole lot unless it's Saturday and I go to the synagogue or it's a Jewish holiday or mine or someone else's Bar or Bat Mitzvah," Amanda said as they pulled into the mall's parking lot.

"Well, then, this should be fun as I haven't dressed you up like a doll since you were three," Raven said.

"I didn't play with dolls much when I was little, so I wouldn't know how to dress a doll," Amanda said as they entered a department store and a sales clerk showed them the section for teenaged girls. Amanda was soon looking at shirts, her mother was looking at pants, and Raven was looking at shoes and jumpers she could dress Amanda in.


	15. Shopping and Son

Chapter 15-

Amanda stepped out of the dressing room wearing a lime-green jumper and a cream-colored long-sleeved shirt. Her mother and Raven stood up from their chairs and looked approvingly at the clothes. "You look beautiful. This was a good choice, Raven," Moira said, kissing her daughter's forehead, lovingly.

"Yes, this color green is a good color on her," Raven said.

"Do you think Dad will like it, Mama, Aunt Raven?" Amanda asked, looking at her reflection in the mirror.

"Your father will love it, but it is more what you think. Do you like it, baby?" Moira asked.

"Yeah. I've never had a dress this color before. I have been to a zillion thrift shops and never found one like this," Amanda said.

"Thrift shops?" Raven asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Uh, yeah. Abba was on a budget, so I bought all my clothes at the thrift store. Second-hand is really not that bad, Aunt Raven," Amanda said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, we don't have to pick second-hand for awhile. We're going to buy you a complete wardrobe," Moira said, kissing her daughter's cheek gently.

"Okay, Mama, it's yours and Dad's money," Amanda said as she went into the dressing room to change into something else.

* * *

Charles looked up from where he was talking to a new student, when Moira, Amanda, and Raven came in, all of them with shopping bags in their hands. Hank took the new student to his room and Charles rolled his chair to his wife, daughter, and sister. "Did you three ladies leave anything at the mall?" Charles asked, an amused glint in his eyes.

"A few things, dear. We had to work completely from scratch," Moira said after giving him a quick kiss.

"Hmmm. Do you like the clothes, Sweets?" Charles asked his daughter.

"They are nice. I have never had such nice clothes and Mama and Aunt Raven bought me a tape player, CD"s, and some books," Amanda said.

"Well, I hope you enjoy them, love, but before you read those, you do need to read the one I gave you for my class," Charles said.

"Okay, but it won't take me that long to catch up. Reading is not an issue with me. I spent ten days last summer reading a book about the six wives of King Henry VIII as British history is kind of fun along with Russian history, French history, and the Holocaust," Amanda said with that self-contained smile that only a teenaged girl could give.

Charles smiled back. "Well, out of any hobby you can have, those are safe ones and ones I can live with. At least it isn't something like smoking and drinking," Charles said.

"Please. I hate the smell of smoke and due to my mutations, I can never get drunk. My body just heals too fast for that to ever happen," Amanda said as she walked to her room.

"Charles, she told us that she wears thrift-shop clothes," Raven said as soon as Amanda was out of earshot.

"I thought as much. The clothes look faded and worn," Charles said.

"Charles, I am happy to have her back, but she seems so distant. There's a wall there that wasn't there when she was three," Moira said.

"My love, she'll be fine. She has still some traces of the drugs in her system, but she is going against her memories. She is Amanda, but she also has the memories of when she was Sarah," Charles said.

"Charles, you are aware that you can't be a hard on her as you are David?" Moira asked.

"Moira, what are you saying?" Charles asked, evading the question.

"That you are harder on our son than you are anyone else in the school. David loves you and he's always terrified that if he makes a mistake, how you'll react. He's even afraid of what will happen now that Amanda's back. That we'll push him to the side because she was born first," Moira said.

"I guess I had better talk to my boy," Charles said as he turned his chair to the library where David was working on an essay for his history class.

"That would be a good idea and talk to him like his father, not his teacher," Raven suggested.

Charles rolled his chair into the library and went to his son, who was sitting at a desk. "David, can you come with me please?" Charles asked, touching his son's hand gently. David looked up.

"Uh, Dad, I kinda have a paper due in history," David said.

"I know, son, but it is really important," Charles said. David stood up and followed his father outside, neither of them speaking until they reached the pond that Charles often used when he wanted new students to show him their powers.

"Son, are you afraid of me?" Charles asked, deciding to come out and ask.

"Huh?" David asked, turning to look at his father, a look of confusion on his face.

"Your mother and Aunt Raven have just told me that I scare you and I am harder on you than anyone else at the school," Charles said.

"Well, it really can't be helped. You run this place and I'm still a student, Dad," David said. Charles pulled his boy down onto his lap and hugged him tightly, running his fingers through his shaggy auburn hair.

"I never said you had to prove yourself to me. You don't have to be a perfect student to make me love you more or less. You are my boy; David Xavier," Charles said, kissing David's forehead.

"What about Amanda, Dad?" David asked, resting his forehead against his father's shoulder.

"What about Amanda, son?" Charles asked.

"You and Mom love her more than me," David said in a splintered voice.

"David Xavier, that is ridiculous. I love all my children the same. Amanda was born first. That is all and she has been hurt. She needs our help. She needs your help too," Charles said.

"I don't know how to help her, Dad," David said.

"None of us do, but Amanda just needs us to be there and show her that we love her as she works through everything she's been through," Charles said.

"Okay, Dad," David said.

"I love you, son," Charles whispered in David's ear.

"I love you too, Dad," David said, wrapping his arms around Charles's neck and burying his face in Charles's shoulder.


	16. Tucked in and the First Day

Chapter 16- Tucked in and the First Day

Charles made his way through the school, Moira by his side. It was a habit since the school had opened for Charles to go around and make sure the children were in their rooms for the night. The very young ones missed their mothers and fathers tucking them in and many saw Charles as a replacement father. "So, did you and David come to an understanding, dear?" Moira asked her husband as they made their way back to their private quarters.

"I think we did. He actually thought we would stop loving him because Amanda was back. I told him that I love both my son and daughter equally and Amanda needs our help," Charles said.

"Yes, she does. Charles, she is afraid," Moira said.

"I know. It doesn't take what I have to see that," Charles said as they stopped at Amanda's door. The light was peeking out through the bottom of the door and Moira knocked on the door.

"Come in," Amanda called. Charles opened the door. Amanda was in her bed, a book open.

"Sweets, it's bedtime. You can finish that tomorrow," Charles said, pleased to see the book was the one he had assigned to her for his class.

"It's okay, Dad. I read fast and I only have a chapter left," Amanda said as Charles took the book away from her and stuck a bookmark in it.

"You can finish it tomorrow, love," Charles said, stroking her face tenderly.

"Your father is right, sweetheart. You need your rest. You're a growing girl," Moira said as she leaned over and kissed Amanda's forehead. Charles followed Moira's gesture.

"Dad, I still don't remember everything," Amanda said as Charles and Moira laid her back among her pillows and Moira pulled the quilts on her.

"It's all right. We don't expect you to remember everything right away. That will take time. But we have that," Charles said, stroking her forehead and moving strands of her hair out of her face.

"Can't we use Cerebro for that, Dad?" Amanda asked. Charles gave a faint smile.

"I wish I could, my love. But I can only unlock so much of your mind. The rest has to come back on it's own," Charles said.

"Oh. Dad, can you and Mama stay until I fall asleep?" Amanda asked.

"Of course we can," Moira said.

"Your mother is right. Close your eyes, Amanda," Charles said, running his hand over her eyelids. Amanda took a deep breath and when Charles removed his hand, her eyes were closed. Charles leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Her breathing then became even as she fell asleep.

* * *

Amanda dressed carefully. It was her first day as a student at her father's school and her Jewish upbringing had drummed into her the importance of dressing nicely and making first impressions count. Amanda licked her lips and picked up her algebra, science, history and _"King Arthur and His Knights."_ Amanda had finished the book early yesterday and it was still fresh in her mind. She found herself wondering what her father's English Lit classes were like; did he just have them read or did he do literary analysis or did they just write a bunch of essays?

Amanda heard a knock on the door. "Come in," Amanda said.

Charles rolled his wheelchair in, followed by Moira. "Are you ready, love?" Charles asked.

"I guess. I was just thinking about your lit class, Dad," Amanda said as she followed her father and mother out of her bedroom.

"From what Jackson and Naomi told us, you should do well in your father's class. They told us you like books," Moira said, brushing a lock of Amanda's hair behind her ear.

"They aren't far wrong, Mama. I love book. Especially British lit. I read " _Wuthering Heights"_ and _"The Mysterious Affair at Styles"_ by Agatha Christie last summer," Amanda said.

"Those are good choices. I read those when I was about your age," Charles said.

"Hmmm. I can see you liking Agatha Christie, Dad, but isn't " _Wuthering Heights"_ for girls?" Amanda asked, furrowing her forehead.

"You aren't too far wrong, sweets, but I went to school and it was assigned," Charles said.

"Oh. I guess if it was assigned, there was nothing you could say about it. Sort of like when I read " _A Separate Peace"_ at the start of this school year. Me and all the girls in my class hated it as it was a boy's novel," Amanda said, rolling her eyes. **(A/N: Actually true. I read this book my Sophomore year in high school and all of the girls in my class really thought that. We hated it.)**

"But no one is learning anything without breakfast, love," Charles said with finality as they went into the dining room and the school day started.


End file.
